“I want to play for Arsenal this season”: Silky South-American star message to Wenger

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Joel Campbell joined Arsenal at the ripe old age of 19. Since then, he’s played almost everywhere BUT Arsenal; he was delayed in joining the club for two years for work permit issues, and since his actual arrival in 2013, he’s been loaned out pretty much every season. In 2014, Wenger thought Campbell would be part of his plans, but in January of that year, after 10 starts in all competitions, the forward was loaned to Villareal for the remainder of the season.

The following season saw Campbell’s heaviest involvement with Arsenal, as he made 30 starts in 2015/16, in which he scored…four goals. Last season, he was loaned again, to Sporting CP, where he made 28 starts and scored three goals.

Given that record of production, it’s not surprising that Arsene wants to loan Campbell out again. What’s more surprising, to me, is why Arsene wants to keep him in the first place, but that’s a separate discussion. Anyway, Joel Campbell weighed in on his possible loaning-out today, and he’s against it.

He’s still rehabbing from a Gold Cup knee injury, he doesn’t score much, and overall I’m not sure what he brings to the squad, so I’m not exactly on his side here. I certainly don’t wish him ill, but I think at this point, after four seasons as an Arsenal player during which he’s played a season and a half and not really done much of note, it’s probably best for both sides that he move on. Arsenal are over their squad size limit and at their non-homegrown player limit, and moving Campbell on to somewhere that he could play every day would relieve both of those problems.